title: Diagnostic value of provocative test by insulin combined with clonidine for growth hormone deficiency in children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the diagnostic value of provocative test by insulin combined with clonidine for growth hormone deficiency (GHD) during childhood.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty children underwent a provocative test with insulin(0.075U/Kg, intravenous) combined with clonidine (4μg/kg, orally). Among them, 40 children underwent clonidine provocative test, 40 children underwent insulin tolerance test (ITT) in another day.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The specificity of ITT+clonidine test (74%, 88%) was remarkably higher than that of ITT (48%) or clonidine test (65%). ITT+clonidine test had a better accuracy (75%, 85%) than that of ITT (63%) or clonidine test (73%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We conclude that the combined clonidine+insulin test is a feasible, reliable, convenient, time saving, and safe tool for evaluation of the growth hormone (GH) axes than the clonidine test or ITT.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics of the Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China.
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
keywords: Clonidine; Growth Hormone; Growth Hormone Deficiency; Insulin; Short Stature